Internal Medicine & Struc: Un Ia-96

Drawing upon reports and documents from the Department of Internal Medicine, papers of past university presidents, interviews, and the contemporary literature of medical history and education, author Lee Anderson focuses on two interesting questions. First, how did the University of Iowa's medical researchers, far from the centers of money and power, come to be recognized the world over? Second, how can the history of a single department of medicine, written against a backdrop of national events, illustrate the specific development of modern medical specialities and subspecialities? This absorbing history traces one department in the medical college of the University of Iowa from its beginnings to 1990. Although the treatment is primarily institutional, Anderson pays ample attention to numerous personalities and their role in shaping the development of the program. While avoiding the "great doctor" approach, he threads key people through complex issues, illuminating the tension between technology and the human elements in medical practice. The medical program itself is the center of the work, and Anderson skillfully indicates the subject matter without going into the substance of the numerous topics that constitute internal medicine. In other words, he has written a history for the general reader, not simply for the medical specialist.